The Last Night On Earth
by Moment For Life
Summary: The sinking scene done differently. Short story. Complete.


My take on the sinking scenes, I have done it slightly differently. I hope you like it :)

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_It's the last night on earth before the great divide_

_My hands are shaking time was never on our side_

_And there's no such thing as a beautiful goodbye_

_As an ordinary day I prayed for you a thousand times_

_It's never enough_

_No matter how many times I tried to tell to tell you this is love_

On the port side of the ship, Lightoller was getting people into Boat 2. He kept his pistol in his hand. Twenty feet below them the sea was pouring into the doors and windows of B deck staterooms. They could hear the roar of water cascading into the ship.

''Women and children only, please. Step back sir, come through madam.''

Even with Jack's arms wrapped around her, Rose was still shivering in the cold. Near her a woman with two young daughters looked into the eyes of a husband she knows she may not see again.

''Its goodbye for a little while, only a little while. There's another boat for the daddies, this boat is for the mommies and children.'' The woman stumbled to the boat with the children, hiding her tears from them. Beneath the false good cheer, the man was choked with emotion. Some of the women were stoic, others were overwhelmed by emotion and had to be helped into the boats. A man scribbled a note and handed it to a woman who is about to board. ''Please get this to my wife in DeMoines, Iowa.''

Jack glanced to Tommy and Fabrizio, time was running out fast and Jack wanted to at least get Rose safe onto a boat.

''You two go check the other side, if there's a boat ready then get on it. Don't worry about us.'' Tommy nodded, leading Fabrizio to the starboard side. Rose watched the scene in front of her, the man saying goodbye to his wife and children, shaking she turned to Jack.

''I'm not going without you.'' She told him.

''Get in the boat Rose.' Jack told her firmly. Tears welling in her eyes, she shook her head.

''No Jack. Not without you.''

''Rose please get in the boat.'' He stroked her curls softly, not believing he had to say goodbye to her.

''Please Rose, get in the boat.'' His voice cracked softly, and tears streamed down her face.

''Quickly ladies, get onto the boat.'' Lightoller grabbed Rose's hand and in a numb blur she was lead onto the boat.

''Jack please, get onto the boat.'' She shouted to him, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed his hand fearing it would be the final time in her life she saw him.

''Don't worry about me darling. I'm a survivor remember?'' He smiled to her reassuringly, but inside he was dying. It was all a rush and a blur.

''Lower away.'' Lightoller called. Jack watched as the boat began to ascend. The ropes were going through the pulleys as the seamen started to lower. Lightoller shouted giving out orders but all of Rose's senses disappeared and all she could hear was her blood pounding in her ears. This cannot be happening, a rocket burst above in slow-motion, outlining Jack in a halo of light and Rose's hair blew in the wind as she gazed up at him, descending away from him. She saw his hand trembling, the tears at the corners of his eyes, and cannot believe the unbearable pain she is feeling, she could make out his lips moving mouthing the words ''I love you.'' Jack knew he was alone now, he would have to find a way to save himself now, to see Rose again but for now he wouldn't waste his last view of her. Suddenly Rose was moving, she lunged across the woman in front of her attempting to hurl herself at the A Deck promenade but she was pulled back by Quartermaster Hitchens.

''Rose Noo!'' Jack cried, watching as she attempted to scramble back onto the ship but it was too late, the boat was lowered into the water and was a few metres away from the ship. He could hear her screams and cries as she was forced to sit back down, her heart breaking, but Jack knew it was for the best. Taking one last view of her, he tore his eyes away and went to find a way for himself to survive - he had to see Rose again.

_If tomorrow never comes_

_I want you to know right now that I_

_I'm gonna love you until the day I die_

_If tomorrow falls asleep can you hold me first_

_I'm gonna love you like it's the last night on earth_

_Like it's the last night on earth_

At Collapsible A, Murdoch was no longer in control. The crowd were threatening to rush the boat. They pushed and jostled, yelling and shouting at the officers. The pressure from behind pushed them forward, and one guy fell off the edge of the deck into the water less than ten feet below.

''Give us a chance to live, you limey bastards.'' Tommy shouted.

Murdoch fired his Webley twice in the air, and then pointed it at the crowd.

''If anyone tries to get past me I'll shoot them.'' A man next to Tommy rushed forward, and Tommy was shoved from behind. Murdoch shot the first man, and seeing Tommy coming forward, he put a bullet into his chest. Tommy collapsed, and Fabrizio grabbed him, holding him in his arms as his life flowed out over the deck.

''Bastardo.'' He shouted, agony seeping through. He had lost his best friend.

Jack ran out of the Palm Court into a dense crowd. He pushed his way to the rail and looked at the state of the ship. The bridge was under water and there was chaos on deck. Jack found a lifejacket and pulled it on himself. People streamed around him, shouting and pushing. He knew he had to stay on the ship for as long as he could, and he pushed his way through the panicking crowd heading aft. He clambered over the A deck aft rail. Then, using all his strength, he lowered himself toward the deck below. He joined a crush of people literally clawing and scrambling over each other to get down the narrow stairs to the well deck which was the only way aft. Seeing that the stairs were impossible, Jack climbed over the B-Deck railing. Near him, at the rail, people were jumping into the water. The ship groaned and shuddered. The man ahead of Jack was walking like a zombie.

''Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death-''

''You want to walk a little faster through that valley, fella?'' Jack pushed him up his stairs.

Hundreds of people were already on the poop deck, and more were pouring up every second. Jack struggled on the tilting deck. As the bow went down, the stern rose. From the boat, Rose glanced up at the ship tears streaming down her face. Screams could be heard and passengers were visible jumping from the sides of the ship, Rose prayed that Jack was not one of them and that he was safe in a lifeboat. People were jumping from the well deck, the poop deck and the gangway doors. Some hit debris in the water and were hurt or killed. Jack struggled aft as the angle increased. Hundreds of passengers, clung to every fixed object on deck, huddled on their knees around Father Byles who had his voice raised in prayer. They were praying, sobbing, or just staring at nothing, their minds blank with dread. Pulling himself from handhold to handhold, Jack pushed through the praying people. A man lost his footing ahead and slid toward him and Jack helped him up. The propellers were twenty feet above the water and rising faster. Jack made it to the stern rail, right at the base of the flagpole. Above the wailing and sobbing, Father Byles voice carried, cracking with emotion.

''and I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away and the sea was no longer.'' The light flickered, threatening to go out. The stern rose into the sky, a night ablaze with stars. ''I also saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city coming down out of heaven from God, beautiful as a bride prepared to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne ring out this is God's dwelling among men. He shall dwell with them and they shall be his people and He shall be their God who is always with them.''

Jack stared about himself at the faces of the doomed. Near him was the Dahl family clinging together stoically. Helga looked at him briefly, and her eyes were infinitely sad. There was also a young mother next to him, clutching her five year old son, who was crying in terror. ''Don't worry darling, it'll be over soon. It'll all be over soon.''

From lifeboat number two, Rose sat silently seeing the ship it was worse than Hell itself. The lights went out all over the ship. Titanic became a vast black silhouette against the stars. The stern half of the ship, which was almost four hundred feet long, fell back toward the water. On the poop deck everyone screamed as they felt themselves plummeting. Swimming in the water directly under the stern a few unfortunates shrieked as they saw the keel coming down on them like God's boot heel. The massive stern section fell back almost level, thundering down into the sea and pushing out a mighty wave of displaced water. Jack struggled to hold onto the rail, he felt the ship almost right itself, some of them praying it was a salvation.

''We're saved.'' Some people screamed but Jack knew they weren't. The buoyant stern tilted up rapidly. He felt the same rush of ascent as the fantail angled up again. Everyone was clinging to benches, railings, ventilators...anything to keep from sliding as the stern lifted. People started to fall, sliding and tumbling. They skidded down the deck, screaming and flailing to grab onto something. There was a pile-up of bodies at the forward rail. Jack climbed over the stern rail, he scrambled over just as the railing was going horizontal and the deck was vertical. The stern was straight up in the air, a rumbling black monolith standing against the stars. It hung there like that for a long grace note, its buoyancy stable. Jack laid on the rail, looking down fifteen stories to the boiling sea at the base of the stern section. People near Jack, who didn't climb over, hung from the railing, their legs dangling over the long drop. They fell one by one, plummeting down the vertical face of the poop deck. Some of them bounced horribly off deck benches and ventilators. Jack laid on what was the vertical face of the hull, gripping the railing, which was horizontal. Just beneath his feet were the gold letters Titanic emblazoned across the stern. Jack stared down terrified at the black ocean waiting below to claim him. Jack looked to his left and saw Baker Joughin, crouching on the hull, holding onto the railing. The final relentless plunge began as the stern section flooded. Looking down a hundred feet to the water, Jack felt the drop was like an elevator ride. This was it now, in a few seconds he would be in the water with all of these other people. As the water neared, he took a long deep breath before the water engulfed him. From the boat, Rose watched in horror as the Titanic finally disappeared from sight beneath the North Atlantic Ocean. The screams of the thousands of people in the sea was like hell.

''We can't go back, they'd swamp the boat.'' Hitchen's told a woman who had suggested going back to pick up more people. It was just three hours ago Jack was making love to her in the backseat of the Renault and now he could be dead, images of him flashed through her mind and she felt the pain rise inside of her.

_A penny for your thoughts_

_A picture so it lasts_

_Let's knock down the walls of immortality_

_Your fingers on my skin only you can hear my fear_

_Only you can help me heal I see forever with you here_

_It's never enough no matter how many miles stand between us this is love_

Jack kicked hard for the surface. When he reached the top, he gasped for air. Around him was a roiling chaos of screaming, thrashing people. Over a thousand people were floating where the ship went down. Some were stunned, gasping for breath. Others were crying, praying, moaning, shouting... screaming. He barely had time to gasp for air before people were clawing at him. People driven insane by the water, 4 degrees below freezing, a cold so intense it is indistinguishable form death by fire. All about him there was a tremendous wailing, screaming and moaning... a chorus of tormented souls. And beyond that nothing but black water stretching to the horizon. The sense of isolation and hopelessness was overwhelming. Jack swam rhythmically, the effort keeping him from freezing. He was looking for something, anything to keep him out of the water. Floating debris caught his attention and he swam towards it. It was a piece of wooden debris, intricately carved. He pulled his weight up onto it, feeling exhausted. Jack was still float amid a chorus of the damned. Jack saw the ship's officer nearby, Chief Officer Wilde; he was blowing his whistle furiously, knowing the sound would carry over the water for miles.

''Return the boats.'' He cried.

In boat 2, Rose had covered her ears against the wailing in the darkness. The first class women in the boat sat, stunned, listening to the sounds of hundreds screaming. Twenty boats, most half full, floated in the darkness. None of them would make a move to return, they just hoped guiltily, the noise would die down soon - and it did. Drifting under the blazing stars, Jack glanced upwards seeing the endless beauty of the sky. He could picture Rose's face, and he smiled through his shivering pain. The water was glassy, with only the faintest undulating swell. His teeth chattered uncontrollably and he heard the noise had died down tremendously, as far as the eye could see bodies bobbed up and down in the water. Tears escaped his eyes, as he thought as his beautiful Rose - he knew he would die soon, but he felt pain knowing that he would never see his Rose again, the children they could have had, the perfect life in Santa Monica - it would never be. Closing his eyes, he felt a pain overcome him.

_The afterglow_

_The horizon line_

_The shadows fall_

_Will you still be mine_

_Will you still be mine_

_Will you still be mine I ask_

_If tomorrow never comes_

_I want you to know right now that I_

_I'm gonna love you until the day I die_

_If tomorrow falls asleep can you hold me first_

_I'm gonna love you like it's the last night on earth_

_Song: The Last Night On Earth_

_Artist: Delta Goodrem._


End file.
